


Black and White

by JustABitFishy



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: And it didn't fit anywhere else, Chess Metaphors, The only reason it's in this fandom is it was inspired by a Sherlock fanfic, suggestions?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-25
Updated: 2015-06-25
Packaged: 2018-04-06 01:38:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4203060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustABitFishy/pseuds/JustABitFishy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Each of the chess pieces had a reason for being there. They each suggested something, about life, duty, or sacrifice. Maybe he should have listened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Black and White

**Author's Note:**

> A short piece inspired by a line in a Sherlock fanfic. No characters, but any characters from any fandoms can fit the fic.

Each of the chess pieces had a reason for being there. They each suggested something, about life, duty, or sacrifice. Maybe he should have listened.

 

The king is always the most important. The game is lost when he falls- he is the entire reason for playing the game. But beneath the obvious, there is more. Why can the most important piece only move one space at a time? In any direction, yes, but only one? Surely he can do more. But he is surrounded by so many others. A bishop on one side, a queen on the other, pawns in front and a wall behind. All willing to risk, give their lives to save him. That is the king’s curse. To be unable to move far, because the burden of being worth dying for is far too heavy.

The queen is arguably the most versatile piece on the board. She can move any direction, any distance that is clear. But there are limits. No piece can move anywhere. The queen’s duty is to eliminate threats, to her king and her people, but she sometimes fails. She cannot jump pieces, not move in the oddest ways. Inevitably, there will be a threat she can’t defeat, a problem she can’t fix. That is the queen’s curse. To live every day, unable to keep those around her safe despite her immense power.

The bishop is interesting. They flank the king and queen- even share the queen’s ability to move diagonally, continuously. But unlike the queen, there are two on every side. A black and a white. Two halves of the same whole, incomplete without the other. Together, they can move anywhere. But separate, half of the tiles are impossible to access. So why put them on opposite sides of the board? They are rarely close, but together are able to do something no other can do. Possibly that is the reason they’re separated. They’re too strong together. But being separated from the person you love the most can certainly make a person stronger. So is the separation then designed to strengthen or weaken the bishop? That is the bishop’s curse. Never knowing whether fighting next to his soul mate will make him better or worse, and never getting a chance to find out.

The knight is odd. No other shares his movement- no other piece can move in the unique, almost erratic way. No other can jump. No other can leap another piece as if they weren’t there, attacking before the others can move. But he has a weakness. He cannot move to attack something next to him. In the distance, it is a target, but when it gets within his shields, he is powerless. And everyone knows it. That is the knight’s curse. To be strong and deadly when the danger is far away, but forced to flee when it comes close, forever holding the title of coward.

The castle is the steadiest of the pieces. They are solid, dependable, and faithful. They move quickly, but only in straight lines. They are the only piece to have a move that is specifically designed to put themselves at risk to save their king, even named after them. So often overlooked, though. Dependability is mistaken for lack of variance. Faith is mistaken for blind trust. So uncomplaining they are taken for granted. That is the castle’s curse. To be loyal until the end, ready to fight and die, but never asked to take the final test simply because they are not thought to be enough.

The pawn is unique. Other pieces will be protected at all costs, but a pawn is willingly sent out to die on a slim chance of success, or sacrificed to save another. For all their weaknesses and shortcomings, though, the pawn has the ability to transform. If their hopeless journey succeeds, they become in a moment what they can and have sacrificed their lives to save. That is the pawn’s curse. To be given new life, only to become the very thing they and their once-equals die for.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Ayara012 for betaing, she is awesome, that's all you need to know about her. Awesomely awesome. And still puts up with me.   
> Unfortunately, I lost the inspiring fic. If anyone knows a fic, or owns a fic, with the line, "Interesting, Sherlock. I see you have chosen your king.", I'd love to know the name. Mycroft is speaking there. Probably on ff.net. Help me out?


End file.
